National Newswatch

Topics

Abbas Rana

After PMO shakeup, Carney brings in capable professionals, but some Liberals and pundits say the new hires lack the political organizational experience needed for party’s success

Maia Johnson is emerging as a rising star who is said to have played a key role in the recent staffing changes, and is already 'making her mark by streamlining processes' within the Prime Minister's Office, say Liberal sources. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently reshuffled the senior ranks of his Prime Minister’s Office, bringing in new advisers and promoting others...

Carney calls August byelections for three seats in Ontario, Quebec and B.C.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is announcing byelections will be held in August for three electoral districts in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. Constituents in Beaches--East York, Chicoutimi--Le Fjord and North Vancouver--Capilano will head to the polls on Aug. 31. The Beaches--East York seat in Ontario was vacated by Nate Erskine-Smith, a former federal housing minister, who intended to run for leader...

Gordie Howe bridge to open to cars today after months of cross-border controversy

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is set to open to motorists today after months of controversy over financial aspects of the project. In a February social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted the United States would have to be compensated before he would allow the bridge to open. He falsely claimed the $6.4-billion structure connecting Windsor, Ont., and Detroit...

Meagan Delaurier, Rob Hindi

Former WDBA chair ‘wary’ of Gordie Howe International Bridge opening Monday

The former chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) says he’s wary about whether the Gordie Howe International Bridge will open Monday. Dwight Duncan was in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday morning, alongside many other local, provincial, and federal dignitaries. Duncan says it’s unfortunate that officials from the United States were not at the event - the way...

Ryan Tumilty

Looming byelections set to test Carney again

Mark Carney can call the four byelections at any time between now and the end of this year. After years of advising candidates in elections, Braeden Caley is learning one lesson in his own campaign the hard way: wear sensible shoes. Earlier this week, with two door-knocking sessions on either side of a more formal event, the new Liberal candidate...

Polls

David Valentin

Federal Tracker: Liberals Lead by 9 as Three By-Elections Are Called

The latest Weekly Federal Tracker from Liaison Strategies shows the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, holding a 9-point lead over Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives as three federal by-elections get underway. Among decided and leaning voters, the Liberals stand at 44%, followed by the Conservatives at 35%, the NDP at 11%, the Bloc Québécois at 5%, the Green Party...

Bruce Anderson

Are Americans getting fed up and fired up about tariffs and the treatment of Canada?

Up till now, Trump's tariffs and his treatment of Canada produced discomfort but little more than that, in the US. There are signs this may be changing. Americans don’t like tariffs as a general concept. Our research in the US last year found that by a 70-30 margin, Americans think freer trade is more in their interests than tariffs.

Opinion

Michael Harris

Poilievre is not the right Conservative leader for these times

So, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is making an image adjustment. He has decided to exchange his signature smirk and the snarky remarks that go along with it for a more positive pose. He is now offering to work with all parties to prevent American tariffs on Canadian exports from happening. “Conservatives are here to help and fight for Canada,” he...

Éric Blais

Trump’s economic attacks on Canada look like a shakedown. They are not — it’s a takeover

Any parent knows how the interrogation goes. You answer the first “why?” and a small voice says “but why?” You give another answer only to prompt another “but why?” By the fourth you’ve run out of reasons and blurted the real one you were hoping to keep to yourself. Rather than being difficult, children are just being thorough. We should...

News

Dylan Robertson

Israel pitches Canada high-tech trade and safer AI as diplomatic tensions persist

Israel is pitching itself to Canada as a technology partner that can offer tangible solutions and safer artificial intelligence, despite the heavy strains on the bilateral relationship over wars in the Middle East. "Canada and Israel are both countries that are very much looking to export technologies, to open new markets and to solve problems that also exist elsewhere," Israeli...

Evan Dyer

Canada remains anti-nuke, but its potential path to the bomb is getting shorter

For decades, Canada’s official policy on nuclear weapons has been that they shouldn’t exist, and there is no sign that principle is about to be abandoned. But for reasons of history and geography, Canada is also one of the world's non-nuclear countries with the easiest technical path to a nuclear weapon. And because of the particular design of its CANDU...

Politician's Pen

Jamil Jivani

Does Mark Carney want to lead the U.S. Democratic Party?

It sure looks like Mark Carney is auditioning to be the next leader of the U.S. Democratic Party. As a Canadian Member of Parliament who represents working families impacted by U.S. tariffs, I want to know why Carney is more interested in playing American politics than being the prime minister of Canada.

Steven Guilbeault

How and why I became Canada’s Minister of the Environment — and why I left

It all started about fifty years ago, in the backyard of my parents’ house in La Tuque, a small town roughly 130 kilometres north of Shawinigan. Our home sat on the edge of town, and just behind it was a gorgeous forest — my playground, my refuge, my world. Then one day, a work crew arrived and began cutting it...

Opinion (Continued) More

Maryscott (Scotty) Greenwood

Trade War is War

Susan Riley

We will never surrender: Canada

Rage, fear, contempt: an incomplete list, but it captures this country’s overall reaction to United States President Donald Trump, easily the most aggressively-ignorant, narcissistic, emotionally-damaged bully to lead that country in living memory. It is our misfortune to live right next door, although no corner of the globe has escaped Trump’s towering need to humiliate, intimidate, and dominate.

Susan Delacourt

Whether the threat is Donald Trump or separatism, health care is a powerful response

Canada’s premiers went to their meeting in Charlottetown this week wanting to talk about health care, but Donald Trump, as usual, was the disruptive force. We know that health care was top of mind for them because one of their meeting days began with a presentation from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, which warned the premiers that massive cuts...

Jamil Jivani

Does Mark Carney want to lead the U.S. Democratic Party?

Irwin Cotler

What happened to Carney's Davos call for principled, pragmatic foreign policy?

On Jan. 20, 2026, Mark Carney delivered a speech at Davos that was deservedly lauded around the world. The prime minister’s address struck a chord both domestically and globally, for two primary reasons. Article content First, he was clear-eyed and candid about the evolving global landscape, in which international institutions are being corroded and even our greatest allies can become...

Chris Ballard

Ontario has been shaped by political dark horses, let’s hope that continues

Conrad Black

Canada must not accept disrespect from the Americans - We were the only country that was unjustly treated by Trump's tariffs

Some readers have reproached me for my general support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies. It was essential to the maintenance of America’s position as the world’s greatest power and accordingly to the security of the West, that Trump succeed in rebuilding American strength and credibility, given the crumbling of Europe, the revanchist appetite of Russia, and the naked totalitarian...

Andrew Coyne

Canadian conservatives have a patriotism problem

Does Canadian conservatism have a problem with patriotism? Do some conservatives feel a greater loyalty to their ideology than their country? Does this lead them to side with Donald Trump and the United States against Canada, in a dispute that turns in part on whether Canada should exist as a country, separate from the United States? Does it also lead...

Max Fawcett

Canadians want to fight. Their prime minister might need to let them

If there was ever a time to put our collective elbows up, it should have been over a bridge named after Gordie Howe. Instead, we appear to have capitulated to a glorified extortion racket from the Trump administration, one that will have Canada handing over revenues equivalent to half the toll bridge’s net revenues for a period of 15 years...

Tom Brodbeck

Decrease in crime an inconvenient truth for Poilievre

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have apparently decided that facts are an obstacle to their crime narrative. The latest crime statistics from Statistics Canada, released this week, show the overall crime severity index in Canada fell five per cent in 2025. The conventional crime rate fell two per cent. The violent crime severity index declined and the non-violent index was also down...

Justin Ling

To hit back at Trump, Canada needs to supercharge its boycott of American goods

A century ago on New Year’s Day, a massive billboard went up over a central London Underground station. It displayed a map flipped on its side, with Britain at the centre of world. Lines radiated from the island, connecting it with the far-reaching British Empire. “Buy Empire goods from home and overseas,” the advertisement read.

Robyn Urback

Like a bad ex, Donald Trump is accidentally making Canada become its best self

Here’s the thing about awful, soul-destroying relationships: sometimes, you come out on the other end a stronger, better person. It’s hard to see the benefits when you’re constantly being lied to, cheated on and disparaged. It’s emotionally exhausting and you know you need to get out, but you signed a lease together and you need his income to make the...

Éric Blais

Why the U.S. trade rep wants to punish Canada economically

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer grew up in a mobile home in Paradise, Calif. He insists that it wasn’t in a mobile home park, it was just a mobile home. That should tell you something about the man charged with implementing Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Derrick Hynes

Growth and Gridlock Don't Mix: Why Canada Needs a Stronger Federal Labour Code

David Vigneault, Trevor Neiman

Openness, Exploited: Canada’s Greatest Strength Is Now Its Biggest Vulnerability

Timothy Kennedy

Activists Must Be Held to a Higher Standard for Truth

James Moore

Can Canada survive 912 more days until Trump is gone?

As I write this, there are 912 days until noon on January 20th, 2029. That will be the moment, at the latest, that Donald Trump will no longer be president of the United States. Between here and there, anything is possible, but certain things are more probable than others. Donald Trump’s affinity for tariffs on products, whether they are protected...

Susan Delacourt

Canadians have more than one way to retaliate against Donald Trump

On a week that Donald Trump has been throwing his weight around with Canada, there is something deeply satisfying in hearing Premier Doug Ford punch back. “I’m tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time,” Ford said about Trump’s latest round of punitive tariff threats. “We always seem to be on our back heels. We...

Stephen Maher

American response to Canadian wildfires just proves their addiction to this one thing

If Canadians think that our problems with our neighbours will go away once their leader is enjoying his reward — either in the hereafter or a federal prison — we should contemplate the profound and irrational unfriendliness his followers have displayed in the past week. Robin Williams once said that Canada is “like a really nice apartment over a meth lab.”

Bruce Anderson

Heart or Head? Canadians and leadership in the time of Trump's USA.

We were best friends. Great neighbours. Our economies intertwined and we sold lots of things to one another. Crossing a border felt more like visiting a relative than a different country.

Adam Radwanski

Donald Trump is betting on our weakness. We can’t afford to prove him right

Donald Trump is counting on Canada having weak resolve — freaking out and turning on each other and crawling to him with fresh concessions, in the face of his latest menacing of our economy. The next month will be about proving him wrong. And so far, we’re not off to a half-bad start.

Andrew Coyne

There is no appeasing Donald Trump, or deterring him

Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 – yes, that tariff act, aka the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the law that famously turned a stock market crash into a worldwide depression – authorizes the President of the United States to impose tariffs on imports from foreign countries that impose “any unreasonable charge, exaction, regulation, or limitation which is not equally...

Dr. Bettina Hamelin

It's faster to fly a human around the moon than to get a new drug to Canadians

This spring, Canada made history when astronaut Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian to fly around the moon in NASA’s Artemis II mission. It took nearly a decade of training, engineering and preparation to get there. It took only 10 days to complete the mission itself. By contrast, it takes 10 to 15 years to get a new drug developed...

Marco Mendicino

Lessons learned from the Gordie Howe bridge

Gordie Howe was famous for being tough on the ice. The Canadian NHL legend didn’t pick fights. But he never backed down from one either and he always found a way to keep the puck moving forward, no matter how the other side played. Canada has had to channel that spirit over the newly built Windsor-Detroit bridge bearing Gordie Howe’s...

News (Continued) More

Jesse Cnockaert

Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada among most active lobbying in June, focused on CUSMA: ‘U.S. administration right now is a little unpredictable’

Canada’s strained trade relationship with the United States was among the major advocacy issues at the federal level in June with the domestic fruit and vegetables sector holding out hope for a renewal of North America’s trilateral free trade pact, despite the deal’s future left in doubt by U.S. President Donald Trump. “[The Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement] still exists. We are advocating...

Kyle Duggan

'Bright' future: RCAF chief says spike in defence spending is boosting flight times

One year into her new job as commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said she could see an immediate effect of the federal government's defence spending boost: RCAF pilots are spending more time in the air. In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Speiser-Blanchet also acknowledged that preparing the entire service for what she described...

Conservatives call for emergency meeting on Trump threats, demand Carney explain plan

The Conservative shadow minister for Canada-U.S. relations is calling on Ottawa to provide its negotiation plan with U.S. President Donald Trump at an emergency meeting. Shuv Majumdar says in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that the Conservatives want an emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on International Trade next week, and Ottawa needs to table its written plans...

Bruce Anderson

Are Americans getting fed up and fired up about tariffs and the treatment of Canada?

Christopher Reynolds

Feds' rejection of island airport plan prevents waterfront 'destruction': advocates

Advocates say the federal government's decision to halt Ontario's plan for a major expansion of Billy Bishop airport will spare Toronto's waterfront from a serious rollback on rehabilitation. Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, says the project would involve "massive destruction" of the Toronto Islands after billions of dollars invested in waterfront rehabilitation over the past couple of decades.

Canadian NATO intern arrested on suspicions of espionage in Belgium

A Canadian intern at NATO has been arrested on suspicions of espionage. Belgium's federal prosecutor says in a statement the female intern of Chinese origin is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country. She is also suspected of being a member of a criminal organization.

Nick Murray

Feds received more than 21,000 emails on proposed changes to major project reviews

The federal government says it received more than 21,000 emails on proposed changes to how major projects are reviewed and will spend the coming weeks combing over those submissions. A window for public feedback on the proposed changes closed Wednesday. The government said it will publish a report summarizing the submissions by the end of the summer.

Sarah Petz

Interprovincial booze rules may be easing, but other trade barriers still remain

Interprovincial trade barriers were back in the spotlight this week as Canada's premiers mused about how to deal with new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump at their annual summer meeting. On Tuesday, a new deal was announced that will see nine provinces across Canada introduce direct-to-consumer alcohol sales following an agreement signed by their premiers. It's the latest...

Federal government rejects expansion of Toronto's Billy Bishop airport

The federal government has rejected Ontario's plan to expand Toronto's Billy Bishop airport to accommodate jets on a longer runway. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said public consultations on the future of the island airport got feedback on a range of issues including transportation, noise, environmental impacts and quality of life. The government received more than 87,000 responses, he said. "We...

Benjamin Lopez Steven, Mitch Cormier

Canada's got a grocery competition problem. Are local food hubs the answer?

Federal food strategy pledging $1B to establish up to 40 hubs across Canada/ About 20 years ago, P.E.I. farmer Rose Viaene watched her husband David take their tractor out into their farm fields and destroy their garlic crop — an act of defiance born out of frustration with Canada's large grocery chains. Viaene said before then, their garlic was sold...

Trump vows tariffs to come for Canada over wildfire smoke that has drifted to U.S.

'We're going to put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke,' Trump tells reporters. U.S. President Donald Trump returned to making tariff-related threats against Canada on Friday afternoon, restating his intent to impose tariffs in retaliation for wildfire smoke drifting across the border into the United States. "We're going to put a big tariff on Canada because of...

'Too big to rig': Alberta separation petition succeeds with 223K verified signatures

A citizen-led petition seeking to force a vote on Alberta quitting Canada is officially successful. Elections Alberta announced Friday it verified nearly 223,000 signatures out of almost 280,000 valid names counted. The petition needed almost 178,000 signatures to be successful. Despite the result, the document is largely moot.

Catherine Morrison

Canada, UAE conclude negotiations on a free-trade agreement

The governments of Canada and the United Arab Emirates say they have concluded negotiations on a free-trade agreement. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference in Toronto on Friday that the next steps include legal review, the signing of the deal and ratification. UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani al-Zeyoudi said the agreement was reached in 47 days...

Trump slams Canada for disinviting them from Gordie Howe Bridge opening ceremony

Officials in Windsor, Ont., are celebrating next week’s planned opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge at a Canada-only ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Canadian side of the structure. Representatives from the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, Bridging North America, and members of the Howe family gathered Friday to officially inaugurate the bridge.

Sean Boynton

Trump says original Gordie Howe bridge deal is dead, contradicting Carney

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the original deal on the disbursement of revenues from the Gordie Howe International Bridge “no longer stands” after his administration struck a new agreement, raising more questions about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s own claims about the arrangement. Trump’s post on Truth Social came during a ribbon-cutting ceremony being held by Canadian officials in...

Catherine Morrison

Deadline for public servants to apply for early retirement arrives

Public servants have just hours left to apply for the federal government's early retirement program. The deadline lands at 2:59 a.m. ET and the Treasury Board website says more than 9,100 applications had been received as of Tuesday, though final numbers aren't expected until at least next week.

Canada-only event held to mark Gordie Howe bridge opening as questions linger on deal

A Canada-only ceremony took place Friday to mark the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, as the Liberal government faces more questions about a new revenue-sharing deal with the U.S. A joint celebration with the U.S. on the bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan was cancelled earlier this week. President Donald Trump said on social media Friday that Canada "disinvited"...

Elmer MacKay, longtime Progressive Conservative MP for Nova Scotia, dead at 89

Elmer MacKay, a Nova Scotia politician who spent more than two decades representing the Central Nova district in the federal government, has died. His son, Peter MacKay, who also represented the Central Nova district in Ottawa, confirmed his father's death in a post to the X social media platform. The younger Mackay said his father died at the age of...

Josh Rubin

Trump’s new tariffs against Canada would likely be shot down in any court challenge, law experts say

Donald Trump’s latest 50 per cent tariffs against Canada would likely be shot down in any court challenge, trade law experts say. Even though he’s theoretically on firmer legal ground than he was with so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs which were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, Trump still needs to prove that Canada is “discriminating” against American trade...

Alex Boutilier

Carney aims to reverse $1 trillion in foreign capital flight over 2 days in September

Over two days in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney will try to stanch $1 trillion of foreign investment flight over the last decade. You can’t fault the man for lack of ambition. Carney is presiding over what he’s calling the Canada Investment Summit — a gathering of international business leaders, CEOs and institutional investors aimed at recouping the losses over...

David Thurton

Public funding for fossil fuel industry breaks another Liberal climate promise, advocates say

The Carney government's financial support for the oil and gas industry amounts to breaking a federal commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, according to environmental advocates. They say the measures represent further federal backsliding on climate policy at a time when oil industry earnings are on the rise. After the Trudeau Liberals promised to phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel...

Georgie Smyth

Alberta's got a new plan for a southern pipeline to B.C.'s coast — it still won't be easy

An already heavily trafficked B.C. estuary is under pressure to industrialize more for the proposed project. Shahin Dashtgard, a sedimentologist from Simon Fraser University, holds an open palmful of muddied sand from the Fraser Valley in Delta, B.C. This material, known as sub-surface, is weak, loose and water saturated, and it's one of the main challenges of building Alberta's proposed...

Wolfgang Depner

Has rise of the right primed B.C. politics for a party that breaks the binary?

Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark says voters in the province face a choice between the "worst government in B.C. history" and an opposition headed by an unelectable leader. "She cannot win an election," Clark said of Conservative Party of B.C. Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. "She is too kooky." Clark isn't alone in making a calculation that the ascendancy of conservatives...

Catherine Morrison

Canada, Ecuador signing free trade deal in Ottawa

The governments of Canada and Ecuador are signing a free trade deal in Ottawa today. Mujtaba Hussain, a spokesperson for International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, confirmed a signing ceremony is taking place but said there are no public events scheduled. Lucero Gutierrez, a spokesperson for the Embassy of Ecuador to Canada, said in an email that Ecuador's minister of production...

Kelly Geraldine Malone

Trump hitting countries, including Canada, with forced labour tariffs

The Trump administration said Thursday it is hitting dozens of countries, including Canada, with duties citing forced labour in supply chains hours before its previous tariff tool was set to expire. Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom are among the countries getting hit with a 10 per cent tariff, while other nations are seeing a 12.5 per cent levy. The...

Stephanie Ha

‘I should have been clearer’: PM Carney on explaining details of Gordie Howe Bridge deal

After days of conflicting messaging surrounding the Gordie Howe International Bridge deal, Prime Minister Mark Carney admits he could have better explained what was agreed upon between Canada and the U.S. “I should have been clearer,” Carney said when asked directly by CTV News if he lied about the agreement at a press conference in Charlottetown on Thursday. “Could I...

Craig Lord

Gaps in tariff effects among provinces could test Team Canada's unity: experts

Experts warn the latest tariff threats from the United States will hit some provinces harder than others — and could test the united Team Canada front. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Monday to impose 50 per cent tariffs starting Aug. 19 on a range of Canadian exports, including honey, liquor and hockey sticks. University of...

Robert Benzie

Doug Ford expected to call three byelections for September

With Premier Doug Ford soon calling three byelections for September, Ontario’s political parties are scrambling to select candidates. Ford is expected to trigger contests in Scarborough Southwest, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek and York—Simcoe on Aug. 5 for Sept. 3 votes.

Rahim Mohamed

B.C. premier calls for blocking critical mineral exports to U.S. over lumber tariffs

B.C.’s premier argued Wednesday for blocking the U.S. from accessing Canada’s critical mineral supply in response to tariffs on his province’s lumber exports and other sectors. B.C. Premier David Eby said at the first ministers meeting in Charlottetown that it was “inexplicable” for the U.S. to destabilize Canadian export industries, including forestry, while trying to gain greater access to Canada’s...

Brennan MacDonald

Trans Mountain CEO confident new oil pipeline to West Coast will be built

As the federal and Alberta governments advance a proposal for a new major oil pipeline to the West Coast, the CEO of the Crown corporation now tasked with spearheading the project’s development is expressing confidence that the new pipeline will be built. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced earlier this month that the Canadian government will refer Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s...

US Poli

Russ Bynum, The Associated Press

US appeals court upholds injunction that blocks Trump's order to create a federal voter list

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that in nearly half of U.S. states halted President Donald Trump's executive order to create a federal list of eligible voters and limit delivery of mail ballots only to people on that list.

Mae Anderson, The Associated Press

Small businesses file lawsuits against Trump's new sweeping tariffs

NEW YORK (AP) -- Trump's tariffs are headed to court -- again.

Jonathan J. Cooper, The Associated Press

Trump orders new signs outside Smithsonian saying some exhibits are inaccurate

President Donald Trump ordered his administration Friday to install signs in front of the Smithsonian Institution 's U.S. history museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate, his latest move to reshape how the story of the United States is told.

Kelly Geraldine Malone

Forced labour or leverage: What Trump's new tariffs are really about

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration says it's hitting Canada and dozens of other countries with double-digit tariffs because they're not doing enough to fight forced labour -- but not everyone is convinced.

International

Trump slams Canada for disinviting them from Gordie Howe Bridge opening ceremony

Lauren Krugel

Fuel costs on the rise as latest geopolitical turmoil drives up crude oil prices

Fuel costs are on the rise in Canada as geopolitical turmoil drives the price of crude oil to its highest level in more than a month. Gasbuddy.com, which crowdsources pump price data from across Canada and the U.S, says the Canadian national average now sits above $1.80 a litre -- a two-cent increase from a day earlier and an eight-cent...

Luca Caruso-Moro

Hoekstra says Canadians ‘don’t think very highly’ of U.S. as Trump threatens new tariffs

As the ambassador rose to address a roomful of suits, he held a plastic shot glass of spirit. “To U.S.-Canadian friendship, partnership and success,” said Pete Hoekstra, Washington’s ambassador to Canada, bringing the cup to his mouth. It was before 10 a.m. on Monday morning – part of a new tradition, he said, of raising a glass at forums like...

Dylan Robertson

Anand says Canada's trade-first diplomatic push is reviving old ties around the world

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is doing foreign policy differently by reviving stagnant relationships with countries on multiple continents in pursuit of trade. "It is diplomacy like Canada has not done before, in the recent past," Anand said Monday in an interview from Islamabad, where she was meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister. It's the first visit by a...

Darren Major

Carney congratulates new U.K. Prime Minister Burnham, calls for continued co-operation

Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian officials offered congratulations to new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham — while suggesting there are areas in which the two countries can strengthen relations. Burnham was officially sworn in on Monday, becoming the fifth British prime minister in four years and the seventh in a decade. Carney offered congratulations to Burnham in a...

Think Tank

Philip Cross

Paying the price: How weak productivity, stagnant incomes, and persistent inflation are fuelling Canada’s affordability crisis

A generation that expected to enjoy a higher standard of living than its parents instead risks inheriting slower growth, fewer opportunities, and permanently diminished prosperity.

Vina Nadjibulla, Elizabeth Donkervoort

Explainer: Chery, Chinese EVs, and the Future of Auto Investment in Canada

Chery Automobile has become one of China’s most important global automakers. Less well known in North America than BYD or Geely, Chery has nevertheless spent more than two decades building an export-oriented business across emerging and developed markets. The company’s growing interest in Canada therefore presents both an opportunity and a policy challenge. For Canadian consumers, Chery could offer more...

Brendan Boyd

Why Government Efficiency Doesn’t Necessarily Drive Public Trust

Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated a desire for change in the federal public service to deliver on the Liberal government’s Make Canada Strong agenda. He hopes to realign the country’s economic and political relations to respond to new global and North American realities. The question is whether the public service has the capacity to effectively and efficiently execute such...

Substacks

A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.

Peter Nicholson

Sage Roundtable: The Economic and National Unity Twists and Turns of a West Coast Pipeline

Peter Nicholson: Thanks, Chris. Since the events of July 2 we have quite a bit more information on the agreement between Canada and Alberta over the rules that are going to govern both the pipeline and oil sands production developments. I think there is a growing recognition that a pipeline shouldn’t be a “field of dreams” – that it is...

Peter Nicholson

Carbon Capture and the Pipeline: Is There Less Quid in the Quid Pro Quo?

Prime Minister Carney has made clear from the outset of his time in office that without a commitment to implement the Pathways carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, there would be no new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast. The expectation was formalized in the Nov. 27 Alberta-Ottawa MOU and the May 15 Implementation Agreement. The oil sands industry has...

Dean Beeby

Ottawa to press for return of looted grave goods

An Indigenous couple’s remains, repatriated to Canada six years ago, have yet to find a final resting place because their “spiritual belongings” are being held by museums in the United Kingdom. Six objects associated with Demasduit and Nonosabasut, among the last of the Beothuks of Newfoundland, are being retained by the National Museums Scotland and by the British Museum. Thanks...

Podcasts

Ben Woodfinden: Reflections on his Party & The Fight for the Soul of Conservatism

Today we talk with one of the most thoughtful voices on the topic: Ben Woodfinden. Ben is an academic, a thinker about Conservative politics, worked for Pierre Poilievre in the run-up to and during the 2025 election, and has been active in this debate for the last couple of weeks.

The saga of the Gordie Howe bridge

Today, the Gordie Howe Bridge is set to officially open to the public, connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan. Its ceremonial opening on Friday was a one-sided affair. It was originally supposed to be a joint ceremony with U.S. officials, but that was cancelled after President Donald Trump announced his plans to hit Canada with a new whack of tariffs...

Canada's wildfire inaction is costing lives

US President Trump echoed his promise to retaliate against Canada for our wildfire smoke drifting south. It comes as more than 900 fires actively burn across the country, with a number of communities evacuated from their homes.

Let's Not Forget the Ticking Time Bomb of Affordability or It Might Blow Up Our Politics

The affordability crisis goes well beyond the monthly inflation rate. It’s about cost of living, for sure, but also low productivity, stagnant wages, and wounded spirits. On the latest episode of the Sage Podcast, former Newfoundland and Labrador Finance Minister, Cathy Bennett and former B.C. Cabinet Secretary Don Wright join hosts Edward Greenspon and Allan Gregg to talk over this...